Bipolar, Asperger's, Anxiety and Tourette's

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I seem to have a cornucopia of psychological and neurological problems and am finding life very difficult. I can (mostly) put on a (completely fake) brave face at work, but my personal life is in shambles. My husband wants me to act naturally, then doesn't seem to enjoy my natural self. My absolutely wonderful 4-year-old son is the light of my life, but I have difficulty accommodating his constant need for attention. My tics (mostly eye/facial) are so bad that I get headaches and am humiliated wherever I go (even if I'm home alone). I've managed to keep away manic episodes with Lamictal, but I can't seem to fight off the severe (often debilitating) depression. I don't know how to recover a semblance of a normal life, which makes me feel helpless and exacerbates everything else. I (obviously) have no friends, and feel so...apart. I suppose I just need to lay out my struggles, so I may as well tell the anonymous internet. If you have any advice, I'd appreciate it.

How much does your husband know about your diagnoses? Has he read up on them at all?

Incidentally, about the 'kid needing attention' issue, I can relate. I volunteer with kids, and I find non-autistic kids (whether they are NT or have other DDs) fun but tiring. I don't have any kids of my own, but I can imagine that would be ore tiring than just 'borrowing' someone's kid for a couple of hours.

Do you have any childcare for him, to give yourself a break some of the time? Also, you might consider, when you're getting overloaded by him, going somewhere where he has something to amuse himself with, such as a nearby park. (Make sure to pick a place you're not too badly overloaded by, of course!)

Plus, while some degree of overloading behavior is unavoidable with a young child, you can try explaining to him 'I know you need [to move/attention from me/etc] but I'm getting overwhelmed' and suggest some compromise you think he might be capable of. For example, to do a fun activity that's a bit quieter and less social than what he wants to do. I find if you use simple language, young kids can often get the idea of overload, since even NT kids will sometimes get overloaded (eg 'too much birthday').

Sorry I don't have any other advice for you.

I feel you, that's a tough combo. I don't have a husband and child so I probably don't understand the challenges with that, but I've been diagnosed with bipolar 1 ultradian cycling, ADHD, and Aspergers, and it can be challenging at times.

Seeing a good psychiatrist and getting on the right medication has been extremely helpful to me. I'm on valproic acid (epilim), lamictal, seroquel, and thyroxin for bipolar, and ritalin for ADHD. To be honest I'm kind of surprised that you're managing to successfully medicate the mania with lamictal alone. Normally lamictal is more used for depression as it is intended to treat that while not triggering mania. You may find that going on a mood stabilizer (lithium or valproic acid are the main two) or one of the more mild atypical anti-psychotics like seroquel, risperidone (it didn't help me unfortunately but it's supposed to be good for autism as well), or abilify may actually help with the depression or mood stabilization in general.

You need to find something you enjoy doing for yourself, give your mind some peace from whatever it is that troubles you.

Life can be stressful, doing something different helps.

Lamictal is notorious for causing Tics, even in people who don't have Tourette's but potentially carry the genetics for it. I was put on it briefly and my tics got a lot worse. I recommend checking other options for medication.